Kathy Griffin Fired By CNN as Trump Photo Backlash Continues

Update: (May 31, 1:40 P.M.): CNN has terminated Kathy Griffin’s recurring role on its New Year’s Eve program, which she usually co-hosts with Anderson Cooper. The network tweeted the following on Wednesday afternoon:

On Tuesday, comedian Kathy Griffin became the subject of public scrutiny after posing with a fake bloody Donald Trump head for photographer Tyler Shields. And even Griffin, rarely one to back down from provocation, seemed to realize she crossed a line. She released an apology on her Twitter account late Tuesday night and promised to remove the image. And then, about four hours later, the president tweeted the confounding typo “covfefe.” The attention was back on him—but Griffin’s role wasn’t done yet.

Griffin knew her photoshoot would cause an uproar. In a video obtained by TMZ, Griffin is seen joking with Shields about the backlash that will result after the shoot is published.

“We have to move to Mexico today . . . because we’re not surviving this, O.K.?”

Though Griffin’s prediction might have been a bit dramatic, and the attention span of Twitter is already moving elsewhere, the fallout continues. As Griffin had imagined it would, her photoshoot immediately caused a reaction. Griffin’s good friend and New Year’s Eve co-host of nearly 10 years, Anderson Cooper, tweeted his disapproval:

The president’s son Donald Trump, Jr.replied to Cooper to thank him for his thoughts—and pressed him on whether he would work with Griffin again on CNN. Cooper has not responded.

But Griffin’s role on the annual New Year’s Eve show could still be in jeopardy. In a statement Tuesday, CNN said, per The Hill:

“We found what she did disgusting and offensive. We are pleased to see she has apologized and asked that the photos be taken down. We are evaluating our New Year’s Eve coverage and have made no decisions at this point.”

And the company Squatty Potty has discontinued a recent campaign that featured Griffin and announced its plans to cut ties with the comedian going forward.

In her own Twitter apology, Griffin noted that in her career she often pushes the boundaries of humor—and pushed too far this time.

“I’m a comic,” she said. “I cross the line. I move the line, then I cross it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny; I get it . . . Taking down the image, gonna ask the photographer to take down the image, and I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake, and I was wrong.”

Sparring with female comedians on Twitter is much more comfortable territory for Trump than, say, defending his reported decision to back out of the Paris Climate Accords. (Thanks for all that climate-change guidance, Ivanka.) With Griffin still being publicly raked over the coals, she may turn out to be less of a thorn in Trump’s side than a conveniently timed distraction.

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